It's Gonna Rain
by ganetto rain
Summary: A new challenger has come to Nerima, seeking out the best martial artists to defeat in order to win the title of the strongest martial artist in all Japan. Will Ranma be able to defeat her, and make her see that being strong isn't all there is to life?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Note:** This is my first Ranma ½ fan-fiction ever, so I might make the characters a little OOC, and besides, I have never written any battle scenes before in my whole life. Anyway, as usual, any honest criticism is welcome, as well as any queries. Please review as much as possible!!

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain!**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Prologue**

If any passerby was to walk through the secluded forest area near the dojo at that precise moment, the passerby would be treated to the sickening sounds of fists meeting flesh and the unmistakable sound of trickling blood.

Or rather, the master of the dojo _hoped_ that there was. He sure could use a hand or two. All his students, training hard under him just a mere _few hours ago_, were now slamming into the hard wood floor of the dojo or against the thin walls and crashing into the adjacent rooms, most unconscious, several holding weapons in their limp hands, blood pooling all over.

He just could not believe it. His dojo had been his pride and joy, and was recognized by the whole village to be the strongest and most undefeatable dojo of all, and yet, here his students were beaten by a mere _female _challenger. Female. Just one female.

If anyone could predict the future and had warned him beforehand, he would have merely scoffed and passed it off as a joke. But now, the evidence was before his eyes. Just one woman was able to overpower all his students. If this woman was one of his students, he would have applauded and jumped for joy. But she was _not_. And that was the worst part of it.

The grip around his sword tightened, the knuckles clearly turning white. He waited. Waited for his turn. He knew that sooner or later, the woman would dispatch of all his students, and he would be the only one left standing. The last one to defend the dojo, to prevent the dojo's sign from being taken away by a stranger.

Footsteps softly treaded through the bodies, eventually stopping in front of him. Blearily, he looked up at the smooth, oval face and cold hard eyes of the stranger. Beautiful in her own way, but like an ice-princess – untouchable.

"So you've dispatched of all my pupils? Well, unfortunately, I am not prepared to lose to you. Draw your sword. The one who falls first will lose. If I lose, my dojo's sign will be yours. Are the terms agreed to?"

The voice that answered was feminine, cool and clear like a spring, but there was an edge of hardness in it. "I have told you before, I have agreed to the terms. I am honorable, and will not go back on my word."

_Even if you are merciless_, he thought inwardly.

"Then it's settled then. Draw your sword."

The opponent wasted no time. In a second, she fluidly drew her sword and advanced on him, leaving him barely any time to react. Instinctively, he dodged to the side, drawing his blade at the same time, and brought his sword up to meet hers as she tried to cut through his defences. They parried back and forth, neither of them giving up. Sweat was trickling on his face, and his palms gripping his sword tightly had grown sweaty, but he ignored these minor discomforts and trudged on.

He swung his sword away and dropped in a somersault, aiming for her back, but she managed to turn around and parry that blow before he could strike her.

That was what he was waiting for. He slid his sword down the blade of hers, making a huge screech in the process which rung in his ears, and brought his sword under hers and through her defences to aim at her neck.

Or so he thought. The next moment, she had flipped bending back wards to avoid his sword.

Then he felt it. A surprisingly strong pressure on his chest, bringing him flying in the air. He didn't know what happened next.

* * *

She landed neatly on both feet, and looked down at the limp, unconscious body of the master of the dojo. Now no more. A cold smile tugged at the corner of her lips at the sight.

"Your dojo is mine, Tanaka-san. Victory is mine."

Her long ebony hair swung backwards as she turned, stepping away from all the unconscious bodies, like a parting wave. The smile on her lips had already fallen as she contemplated the easy defeat of the so-called amazing, powerful dojo.

Stepping out of the broken dojo, the newly obtained dojo sign clutched in one hand, Shoken Koname stared upwards into the sky. Storm clouds had already started to gather.

"It's going to rain... Well, I don't have any hot water, so it can't be helped..."

She looked backwards once more at the silent, lifeless dojo. Her eyes narrowed.

"Where can I find an even more challenging opponent? An opponent that, if I managed to defeat, would have everyone acknowledge me as the strongest martial artist of all Japan...?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so the prologue was pretty boring, but I had to introduce Shoken Koname first, right? And I just realized that I totally forgot to mention that her name was Shoken Koname! She _is_ the "villain" in this story... And you also probably know by now her "secret", but as for which Jusenkyo spring she fell into, it'll be revealed later.

And I really hate describing battle scenes now. Took me a whole half hour just to get that part the way I wanted it, and even then it isn't perfect. Ah, well. Nothing is perfect.


	2. Part I: Storm Clouds

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Note:** Okay, so this chapter is up this soon, but I'm currently trying to get it out as fast as possible, with the best that I can do. Now I hope I don't get any of the characters OOC. Anyway, any honest and constructive criticism is welcome, and review as much as possible!

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part I: Storm Clouds**

Two figures could be seen jumping from roof to roof on the steep and tall buildings. Those who were unused could be seen staring openly at the duo, jaws slack and eyes wide open. The locals, or rather, those who lived near the _infamous_ Tendou Dojo were already used to it. Now _they_ were the ones who, after a brief glance, carried on with their work.

"What the-! Who the _hell_ was that?! That sure was _crazy_!" One of those belonging to the 'unused' category asked uncertainly.

"Ah, no need to worry, everything's perfectly fine," the other soothed. "Life in Nerima is always like that. You just have to get used to it."

The other person looked doubtful. "If you say so..."

"I'm positive," the other said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "If you say this is extraordinary, then there's _even_ weirder stuff happening almost _all_ the time."

The first person looked rather unhinged. _I don't think I'm going to stay here much longer..._

Meanwhile, the two figures had made their way across all the buildings nearby to the wide, concrete bridge. The first figure abruptly skidded a halt and turned back. This was Saotome Ranma.

There was nothing extremely extraordinary about his appearance. He was tall, slightly taller than average, with a good muscular physique. His black hair was long, longer than most guys would care to grow, tied back into a Chinese style plait down his back. His comically dancing grey-blue eyes scanned the area, a quick grin forming on his face. Dressed in a Chinese-style red shirt with folded up sleeves, a pair of black pants, and, yet again, Chinese-style shoes, he looked confident and at ease, like a lion ready pounce.

"Oy, Ryoga! Are you too slow or something? I can't even believe that you've gotten this slow! And I taught you said you've gotten even better?" He taunted the other.

"Ranma!" Hibiki Ryoga jumped towards Ranma, landing squarely and neatly in front of him. Nearly just as tall or possibly even taller, his dark hair was swept away from his forehead by a yellow bandanna, and clad in a long sleeved yellow shirt and a pair of dark green trousers. He also looked quite confident, but there was an air around him that seemed to make others feel that he was actually fuming.

He _was_, in actual fact. _Ranma_ was the one who ran away from him, and yet _he_ had the nerve to say that he was slow? He felt an urge to attack Ranma immediately, but knew that it would be suicide. Ranma was a lot faster than he looked, and not only could he be able to see his attack coming and dodge quickly, but could also attack him just as quickly.

Ranma smirked. _Well... So it's the same exercise all over again, huh?_

"Face me, Ranma! I will defeat you today for sure!" Jumping into the air, he launched an attack at Ranma.

Ranma jumped into the air too, all prepared to meet Ryoga and defeat him. For the fiftieth time, at least. "When you are!"

The two forces collided.

* * *

"Heh, and you consider yourself to be a superb martial artist? That's not even worth half of my attack. It's no wonder that you lost. Stick to cooking."

Kuonji Ukyo bristled but did not retort as bitingly as she would have normally done. It was true in a way – she'd not been training lately, having considered, as Ranma's cute fiancée, to cook lunch and dinner for him everyday, and with school and the shop to take care of, hardly any time remained for her to train or even socialize.

It had been a particularly good day for her shop. She had just gotten to close the shop, when a knock sounded and she had appeared, asking for a fight. Of course she had agreed. She just never expected her to be _that_ strong. But Kuonji Ukyo had always been stubborn, and this had never changed all through these years.

"Well, I consider myself good, and I will never give up! I, Kuonji Ukyo, swear that I will defeat you!" Slamming her giant spatula into the ground to emphasize that fact, she glared with hostile eyes at her opponent and slowly picked herself up from the ground. Every muscle of her body ached, her head felt extremely light.

_This is bad... she's way too good for me..._

The opponent merely smiled condescendingly at her. "Don't bother, at that state, you will never be able to defeat me."

"And it's been said that you should never underestimate your opponent." She raised her giant spatula, pointing it straight at her. "Get ready!"

She sped towards her opponent. The other girl did not even move, did not even bait an eyelash. She merely waited for Ukyo to close in on her before leaping into the air, flipping midway and landing straight on Ukyo's back before she could even react.

Needless to say, the resulting force was the deafening impact of Ukyo's body slamming head first on the floor. She leaped off the girl's body, and smirked coldly. "I told you. You could never defeat me."

"You're wrong..." Ukyo's voice, though faint, was unmistakable.

The cold smirk froze in place. "What did you say? I defeated you, you cannot deny the truth."

"... I don't deny it. My pride is hurting me, but I am honest. But there is something else... You may have been able to defeat me, but there is one person you can _never ever_ defeat..." Before even finishing her sentence, she slumped, hair falling limply around her face.

Shoken Koname looked upon her limp body with cold, unfeeling eyes, the smirk vanishing from her face. Her eyes narrowed in anger.

"I will definitely defeat this person whom you talk about. No mater how strong, I will not let anyone get into the way of my goal."

She walked off into the darkness.

* * *

A fist nearly slamming neatly into his face was dodged swiftly. Somersaulting into the air, Ranma aimed his feet under the unfortunate man and flipped, sending the unfortunate man who was slow to reacting into the air and into the river under the bridge.

"I won."

High-pitched squeals could be heard from the river, catching Ranma's attention. He looked over the bridge, and spotted Ryoga's unmistakable clothes floating on the water surface. Except that he was not in there. Scanning the river, he found a small black pig with Ryoga's bandanna around his neck, squealing hysterically and somehow rather angrily. If his squeals could be translated into words, it would definitely have been, "You _filthy_ bastard! I will defeat you one day!"

Ranma looked at the pig, disinterested after checking for its safety. "Too bad, I won. Best get back to Akane, so that she can look you over." He turned away, casually whistling. It was then that he realized that he felt ravenously hungry.

Ah, well. He could always visit Ukyo's shop.

* * *

Ukyo came to slowly, her head buzzing painfully. Groaning, she picked herself up unsteadily from the floor, then fell onto her knees painfully. The whole place was a huge mess. Her whole body hurt, especially where she had been slammed into the floor. But what hurt most was her pride. That she could not even defeat a girl, she felt worthless.

_I wonder if Ranma would even like me now..._

The still-intact door slid open, causing her to start. Ranma's familiar voice filled the store.

"U'chan, you here – U'chan?!"

She dared not look up, a faint blush filling her cheeks. Of all people, _Ranma_ had to see her like this. Granted, if it was someone like _Shampoo_, it would have been worse, but having Ranma see her like this hurt more than anything. However, the next moment, she felt a strong arm holding her steady, and saw Ranma's eyes in front of her, looking very concerned. Despite her condition, she felt her heart beat faster.

"What happened?" He asked urgently. It sounded rude to some, but she had already been long used to his manner of speech.

"A girl challenged me. I agreed, but I... lost. She's dangerous, Ranma. I've a feeling she's after something, though I'm not sure what exactly."

She saw Ranma's eyes widen slightly, then narrow. "Whoever did this won't be getting away with it, I swear," he said lowly. "Come on, I'll take you to Tofu-sensei's."

She felt herself being picked up by Ranma and smiled. Feeling safe, she allowed her exhausted body to rest.

* * *

A lone figure slouched out of Tofu-sensei's clinic, hands in pockets, eyebrows furrowed. If anyone who knew him well enough could see him now, they would have been rather surprised, for that was an expression seldom seen on his face. He looked troubled, for once.

Ukyo was going to be okay, Tofu-sensei had said so. That was a great relief to him. Ukyo was a fighter, and she would definitely be fine. But what troubled him was something else. He had a strange hunch that this person, whoever she was, would be after him and probably Akane next.

He wasn't concerned about himself – he was sure he'd handled worse, but somehow imagining Akane fight that woman sent shivers up his spine.

If Ukyo couldn't defeat this woman, then Akane surely would not be able to. And, although he refused to admit it outright, he hated to see Akane hurt.

_Dammit..._

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, this was much longer than what I normally would write for a chapter. Oh, well. I hope it wasn't horrible. And I really, really hate writing battle scenes...

**Yokai Cesia and Chi** – I'm thrilled to know that you think it's great! And I can never ever visualize the battle – that's the problem. Seriously, I was nearly cracking my head just trying to figure out how to type it out... But thanks anyway!

**FreedomGundam** – Wow, I'm really happy to see that you think it's awesome! Thank you so much for your review!


	3. Part II: Lightning

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes:** Well, I guess this chapter took a longer time to get completed. Friday was a busy day for me, so I didn't get the chance to update. Well, any honest or constructive criticisms are welcome, as per usual, and please review as much as possible!

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part II: Lightning**

The absence of Kuonji Ukyo in class the next day confirmed that something was wrong. Tendou Akane, the acclaimed "uncute" fiancée of Saotome Ranma (He _had_ said that of her himself), _oblivious_ of certain matters (like the fact that her pet-pig P-chan _was_ in fact Hibiki Ryoga) as she was, couldn't fail to notice that something was eerily just _not_ right.

The first thing that had triggered this thought was the fact that Ranma had been awake and was eating breakfast far before her, a first ever since he and his father, Saotome Genma, had started living in the Tendou Dojo. Normally, she would be the first to awaken and be forced upon the menial task to wake up the over-sleeping Ranma, being Ranma's fiancée and all. But now, she was later than Ranma, the most outstanding in the house for laziness.

It was then when she knew immediately something was _wrong_. The somber and quiet expression on his face was further proof of the fact. He didn't eat any less enthusiastically, as was to be expected of someone like him, but he was unusually quiet for once, and didn't seem in the mood for talking. He still fought with Genma for food, but with much less enthusiasm and much less noise. Even Genma caught on after awhile, and didn't bother him anymore after some time.

She was very curious, and wanted to find out whatever Ranma was hiding, but as Ranma wasn't willing to say anything, she had no choice either. When the time came for them to go to school, Ranma didn't make a fuss, but quietly followed her out of the house, still lost in thought, not even walking the fence like he used to.

At that point, she couldn't really stand it anymore. Why was Ranma acting so strangely? Action, she decided, had to be taken soon.

"Ranma!"

He stopped for a moment, to look at her. "Whazza'matter. Akane?"

She turned around and jabbed him in the chest, catching him by surprise. "You're the problem, that's what, Ranma! You've been acting so weirdly all morning! Care to tell me anything, _jerk_?"

He scowled at the word 'jerk'.

"Now why should there be anything wrong with me?" He replied derisively. "_Uncute_!"

There went all curiosity. Akane glared at him, bag in hand, ready to slam it on him.

"Dammit, Ranma, you _DUMMY_! _Jerk_! _Dumb-ass_!" She ranted, aiming the bag at him as he strolled off, easily avoiding every blow, a wide grin on his face.

Akane, in her rage, didn't note that he seemed a lot more cheerful than a few moments ago. She also totally forgot about all the questions she wanted to ask about his brooding behaviour.

Those questions, however, returned when class started and Kuonji Ukyo was noted absent. She stole a glance at Ranma, and found no surprise in finding that his brooding expression was back on. As she guessed, Ukyo's absence was probably the cause of Ranma's behaviour.

_That's to be expected_, she reminded herself sharply. _After all, Ranma definitely likes Ukyo better than he does you! Anyway, why should you even care that a jerk like Ranma wouldn't like you as much as either Shampoo or Ukyo? _

Forcing down the deep wells of slight resentment and jealousy, she started trying to concentrate on her lessons. But the image of Ranma's brooding expression refused to get out of her head.

* * *

"Hi-yaaaaah!"

A battle-cry rose in Shampoo as she charged towards her opponent, a tall slim girl who wasn't much older than her. She guessed that the girl was probably eighteen or nineteen, with a good build and shapely frame. Quite her rival in _looks_, but considering the situation now, why should Shampoo even bother, when her pride and honour was at stake, and winning the fight was all that mattered at the moment?

The girl smiled the briefest of smiles, and sped towards in Shampoo with speed rivaling hers, much to Shampoo's dismay. In fact, if truth was to be told, this girl was actually _much_ faster than her. But Shampoo was of the Amazon tribe, and the women of the tribe had a lot of pride. So, Shampoo would sooner jump down the throats of hungry snakes than admit defeat.

Summoning all her strength, Shampoo aimed for the girl's chest. The blow was parried as the other spun around, kicking the weapon with such force that it flew out of Shampoo's hand. Both landed onto the ground neatly, Shampoo seething with rage that her attack had failed, the other with calm confidence.

"That level of skill is horrible. You aren't meant for fighting at all."

Shampoo felt as though physically slapped in the face. Fighting was one thing she prided herself on, and to have her fighting skills goaded on by the older girl was too much for her already bruised ego. Even _Akane_ and the _Spatula Girl_ were weaker than that girl.

"What you talking? I _never_ give up, while I still have pride of Amazon tribe in me! Talk yourself!"

Spinning her weapon expertly in her hand, she launched a battle cry and launched into a series of powerful strikes. The other dodged every single one of them, still with that merest trace of smiles on her face. It was as if the other girl thought that it was a game, and Shampoo hated it.

For one, this girl herself had _asked_ for a battle just as Shampoo was going to return to the Cat Restaurant after a delivery, and now she was treating it like a _game_! This was just heaping insult upon injury, and Shampoo wasn't used to feeling such insult.

"I warn you, I not going down easily. I use best move against you!"

Shampoo got into the stance of her best move. The other girl merely watched, but with careful, piercing eyes, as if formulating a plan to defeat the move.

"YAAA!!"

Shampoo attacked expertly, using her weapons as a shield around the girl to distract her while she managed to get behind. Instead, she found the weapons which were aimed towards the other girl at all directions being thrown in her face with alarming speed. Without even a second to react, the impact of the shattering blow caused her to smash into the ground.

"I won."

Shampoo gritted her teeth, but could summon no strength to even get up, no matter how determined she was too. She was blazingly angry now. The Kiss of Death would be the perfect revenge, but she could not even lift a finger, let alone administer the Kiss. Blurrily, she saw the girl's face in front of her, smirking slightly, before walking off. Leaving her on the ground, defeated.

Shampoo lay on the ground, exhausted. _You aren't going to get off with this_, she swore. _Not ever._

A distance away, Shoken Koname stared into the sky and sighed wearily. All these fights were not as challenging as she had thought. The Spatula Girl from last night and the Chinese girl just now were rumoured to be one of the three strongest female fighters that ever were. And she had defeated two of them easily.

Never mind, there was always the last girl to look forward to. And if the girl proved no challenge, then she would gladly turn towards the male martial artists. She definitely had heard of their prowess.

_Tendou Akane, you will be my next opponent._

* * *

Lunch period came. Ranma gobbled up his lunch, though without much enthusiasm. For once, he wasn't joining in the persistent chatter of his two closest friends, no matter how much they tried to make him to. The pressing problem of the mysterious female attacker still weighed on his mind, especially if his hunch about this girl challenging Akane came true.

_Because if that happens, Akane will **never** defeat her. _Ranma thought darkly. _And I don't want that to happen. Akane getting defeated, I mean._

He sneaked a glance at Akane, currently chatting unconcernedly with her friends. He hoped that she never would come across whoever that girl was. That girl seemed almost too powerful, and, by the looks of it, merciless too.

_But that uncute girl is too stubborn for her own good_, he thought, poking a rice-ball in his mouth. He felt thoroughly depressed and worried, feelings he wasn't used to. Not at all.

Sighing, he looked down at his empty lunch-box. Yet another depressing matter on his hands.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day's lessons. Akane breezily packed up, unwanted books in her arms ready to go into her locker, momentarily forgetting about her worries about Ranma.

"Ranma, are you going to the lockers yet?" She asked cheerfully.

"Not yet," She heard his familiar voice reply. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up. Got some stuff to take care of."

Akane rolled her eyes. Ranma probably had to meet another teacher _again_. His unconcerned attitude about his work caused his grades to slip down pretty badly, but he was still as happy-go-lucky as ever. Just getting a pass was good enough for him, something Akane would never comprehend.

She walked towards the locker rooms, and absently opened her locker. A slip of paper flew out, apparently stuffed between the vents of her locker. Stowing and locking her books in the locker, she looked at the piece of paper – and gasped.

It was a _challenge letter._

_Well_, she thought after reading, _if this person is really desperate, then I'll fight him._

She made her way towards the training field, barely acknowledging anyone in her way. Her mind was whirling with suspicions. Just who was this person?

Finally stepping into the field, she saw a _girl_, cross-armed, in the center of the field. Noticing her presence, the girl looked up – and smiled.

"Tendou Akane, you're here," Shoken Koname greeted.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Wow, long chapter! I've been slaving away at this for a long time now. Does it sound too cliché? I hope not! And my dislike for battle scenes _still_ hasn't faded. Ah, well.

**a:** Wow, thanks for your comments! I really can't believe you think it's interesting... Because me, as the author, don't really think so. Hehe

**Zero the Death Shadow:** Really? I'm really glad you think so highly of my fic! And this is a Ranma/Akane pairing fic, seeing as I am a strong believer of that pairing But things between them aren't going to show up now, though.

**Yokai Cesia and Chi:** Thanks a lot for your comments again! Can't tell you how much I appreciate them!

**Gundum M:** I'm glad you think it's good! Thanks a million!


	4. Part III: Thunder

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes:** This newest chapter is probably going to be the last update in a few days. I'll be forced to attend plenty of stuff in the up-coming days with little time left to write. sigh Anyway, any honest criticism is welcome, because I really appreciate honest feedback about this fic, good or bad. So please review as much as possible!

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part III: Thunder**

_Finally stepping into the field, she saw a girl, cross-armed, in the center of the field. Noticing her presence, the girl looked up – and smiled._

_"Tendou Akane, you're here," Shoken Koname greeted, the briefest of icy smiles on her face..._

They faced each other, each ready in their respective battle-stance. Akane briefly scanned the girl in front of her, and her heart sank. She certainly didn't look easy to knock out. If even _Shampoo_ and _Ukyo_ had given her problems, than this girl would be _twice_ the trouble. And that was bad for Akane – or rather, _disastrous_ for Akane, because of the possibility that she might not win (no matter how stubbornly she tried to ignore that teeny train of thought).

The girl was tall, and slim, but powerfully built, along the lines of Ukyo, except she was even more muscular. A dark, tanned face was framed by longs strands of raven-black hair, her dark, cold eyes very observant, scrutinizing every single detail. Akane felt as if she and this girl were miles apart – she was _cold_, like carved ice, every inch perfectly sculptured, while Akane was _hot_, like a burning splinter, always acting through her emotions. She felt suddenly more aware of the other girl when she realized that fact. Why she felt that way, she never knew.

"I am ready. But first, I'd like a few questions answered." She saw the other girl start slightly, apparently caught off-guard, then watched closely as the countenance returned to its original cold and indifferent self.

"What are they?" Every word was carefully chosen and articulated perfectly. Akane felt a shiver go up her spine. _What a perfectionist..._

"Well, quite a lot!" She met the opponent's gaze firmly, without even a simple flinch. "What's your name, for one? And here's another: Why did you want to challenge me?"

The other didn't look affronted or taken aback. She merely smiled condescendingly and replied somewhat carefully, "Firstly, my name is Shoken Koname. And, prior to your second question – my motives. Which is actually a simple enough a question to answer, by the way. I want to fight you in order to achieve my goals."

Akane was startled at first, but then she felt an irresistible urge to roll her eyes. "You haven't told me what_ are_ your goals yet. Why do I stand in the way of your goals? Why do you have to fight me in order to achieve your goal?"

Shoken Koname didn't bat an eyelash. "That's simple enough. My goals, huh?" She tilted her head, as if in thought, before narrowing her eyes at Akane. "I want to defeat all the martial artists in Japan, especially the most powerful ones, and claim the title of "strongest" for my own."

* * *

"-And so, you _must_ work harder! Your grades before you left your previous junior high were not as bad as they are _now_! Then, you were able to get just _slightly_ lower than average marks, but nowhere as bad as the _present_! You are _constantly_ sleeping in class, not paying the _slightest_ attention to any of your teachers! All your teachers find you _irresponsible_, _lazy_, but with _great potential_. I hear you are _very _dedicated to your martial arts. Now if you could be _just_ as dedicated to your martial arts as towards your studies, you will-"

Ranma rolled his eyes mentally and resisted the urge to yawn or show any signs of weaknesses. _Why_ had he even come here to meet his stupid _sensei_ in the first place? Now _that_ was starting to show that he was probably going mad.

_Well, that's to be expected_, he reflected. After all, the stress piling on him because of the mysterious attacker probably gave him brain damage. He'd been thinking so much he hadn't even realized how tired he was. Until the time he entered the stupid staff room, and heard his _sensei_ droning on and on about his slipping grades, how he must try to work harder, crap like that, making him feel immensely stupid and pleasantly sleepy.

_Dammit... Now's not the time to be nodding off!_ He scolded himself mentally.

Perhaps the reason why he had come here was due to the fact that he felt guilty. Immensely guilty. After all, he'd never put in any effort into his studies at all since he'd entered Furinkan High. Attending this talk was his way of trying to show that he meant to pay attention, for once.

Whatever it was, he was seriously regretting his choice.

_I think I'd much rather feel guilty than having to ever listen this kind of stupid stuff again..._

* * *

Mousse couldn't believe what Cologne seemed to be telling him. He pulled off his glasses nervously, every action overly exaggerated.

"SHAMPOO! My _rose_, my _beautiful_ swan in the lake! I will avenge you!"

He briskly pushed back his chair, causing the chair to topple backwards. "I will rescue you from the clutches of the evil attacker! Your hero is coming!"

So saying, he hugged the nearest pot. "SHAMPOO! I am here – your knight in shining armour! Come, embrace me!" Tears leaked out from his tightly-pinched closed eyes.

Cologne sighed and pinched her nose in distaste. Maybe she _shouldn't _have told him after all? After all, he was giving her more trouble on top of the mess made.

She hopped over to Mousse, still crying and exclaiming over the stupid pot, and rapped him – hard – with her walking stick and briskly took over.

"Mousse, Shampoo is well taken care of in Tofu-sensei's clinic. He is an excellent doctor, and she is in no danger. I myself will go and visit her. But if you really care about her, go and find the girl who challenged her! If you defeat her, Shampoo will definitely regard you as her hero. Oh-ho-ho-ho!" She laughed merrily at her rather ill joke.

Mousse, on the other hand, seemed to take the offer seriously. "Of course I will! SHAMPOO! Your knight in shining armour will come later! First I must avenge you!"

He ran out of the Cat Restaurant, still exclaiming over Shampoo. Cologne, alone in the closed restaurant, heaved a sigh of relief. At least Mousse was away, which gave her time to think. Shampoo had been defeated twice, her honour was now at stake. Whoever the girl was, she definitely had a high level of skill, and she had a strong feeling that only Son-in-Law (Ranma, of course) would be able to defeat the girl.

She got to the door, and locked it shut behind her. First things first – she had to find Shampoo. She fervently hoped that Son-in-Law _would _be able to defeat the girl...

* * *

"You WHAT?!"

In her whole life, Akane had asked herself many times the reason for fighting. She could find no answer. Sure, self-defense, honour at stake... but other girls could lead normal lives without fighting, while Akane couldn't. Akane found pleasure in getting into fights, though she never showed it – fighting, she felt, was the only way for her to de-stress, especially after Ranma's, in her eyes, cruel insults.

Finally, she had just stopped asking the question by answering to herself reasonably – fighting was in her blood, and she could never stop it. At that time, she felt it was reason enough, reason for her to go on as she did. Now, she wasn't so sure her beliefs would match out against this girl.

"I want the title of strongest," Shoken repeated, in a tone which suggested that she was rather annoyed at having to repeat what she had already said – or was it something else?

Akane couldn't even begin to comprehend. This girl, she felt, was a total mystery to her – someone she could never relate to.

"But why? Isn't having a high level of skill enough? Why bother to try defeat everyone else?"

Shoken narrowed her eyes, her limit snapping into pieces. Fighting to keep her control, she replied icily, "It does not concern you. I have a reason for doing so, but why should I even reveal it to you, you whom I have never met before? Come now, fight me!"

She got into full battle-mode, allowing her mind to relax and focus on the battle ahead, calm countenance betraying naught. She fully expected Akane to do the same, but instead, much to her surprise, Akane got out of her battle stance, and was looking at her inquiringly.

"How can I battle someone whom I don't even know very well to begin with and not know what the person is really after?" Akane asked. "You seem troubled with the fact about me asking you want to defeat everyone else..."

Akane was genuinely curious. But she certainly didn't expect the other girl's violent reaction.

"SHUT UP!" That effectively caused her to close her mouth, much startled. The calm and cool exterior, it seemed, had melted. Apparently, she had struck a nerve. "Don't go asking about what you don't know about others – that's proper courtesy. I will make the first move, if you don't want the pleasure!"

Akane glared at Shoken. What on earth was wrong with this girl? First she demanded a fight, and then refused to reveal her motives, choosing to flare up instead. She got back into her battle stance, arms at the ready.

"Well, I won't lose to anyone – not to you, especially. So be warned, I'm coming!"

Echoing a battle cry, Akane lunged towards Shoken, fists at the ready. She didn't notice the crowd of milling students around.

* * *

Ranma escaped the staff room with a heady relief after having to endure an hour's worth of his sensei's, in his opinion, worthless and useless talk. He was pretty much sure he had earache now – his ears were still throbbing.

Thinking of getting a drink to revitalize him before heading home for a nap, he turned towards the stairway leading him to the food store. With luck, it was still open.

He met Hiroshi, one of his friends in school, at the base of the stairway, heading in the direction leading to the school's training field. He seemed very excited and rather in a hurry, and nearly smashed headlong into Ranma.

"OY! Watch where you're going, guy. Whazza'matter?"

Hiroshi only seemed to notice him then. "Oh, Ranma! Well, I heard-" At this point, a faint blush filled his cheeks. "I heard that Akane is fighting with some strange girl in the training field! I can't wait to see Akane kick her ass!"

Daisuke had appeared out of nowhere. "Yeah! Ranma, wanna join us?"

Ranma, on the other hand, suddenly felt his brain jam. _It couldn't be... could it? That the girl... the girl! She's the one Akane has to watch out for – probably the one that attacked Ut'chan! I gotta hurry!_

He knew his instincts had been right. Without waiting for his friends, he set off at a sprint for the training field.

* * *

Akane didn't know what happened next. All she knew was that a heavy _something_ had just slammed into her just as she was charging for Shoken Koname. She saw lights in front of her eyes, but thankfully, didn't pass out, as she slammed to the ground. The left side of her pinafore ripped, but she didn't care.

Gingerly, she got up from the ground to meet Shoken's level stare. "And they say you're powerful? If that strike was able to keep you down, then I don't see why others would even praise you as they did."

Akane bristled. This was ten times worse than Ranma's insults. Damn the girl!

"Well, I don't care how powerful you are! I'm going to defeat you! Get ready!"

She charged, and found her blow meeting thin air as Shoken easily side-stepped the blow. Whirling around to face Shoken, she executed a series of roundhouse-kicks, which the other evaded neatly without a single hit landing. Getting frustrated, she flipped under, ready to slam Shoken by the legs before she became aware, when she instead found herself raised into the air by her hair.

Stunned, she found herself meeting those dark eyes.

"You're interesting. But you're just as weak as the others here in Nerima. I don't see how so many people here think so highly of your elementary skills."

Akane hated that insult, but she ignored her inner violent reaction as a horrible suspicion came to her mind as everything that had happened today – or rather, _Ranma's behaviour_ resurfaced.

"You're-!"

Shoken silenced her with a deathly grip on her throat. "You irritated me most of all. I won't kill you, but I will make you suffer."

Akane glared, trying to pry herself from the grip, but failing miserably. Before she could even try to pry herself away or attack Shoken, she felt pressure on her armrests.

Her eyes became blurry as she fell backwards. She didn't even feel herself hitting someone and being caught.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, I didn't want to end just there and leave it as a cliffhanger for a few days, but 'tis inevitable. And now, it is time for me to rejoin the rest of me ol' group to prepare for an Arts' Fest next Wednesday. Woe is me. And by the way, I really still hate writing battle scenes.

**Tyrean:** Wow! Thanks for spending time to scrutinize and correct my mistakes! As of now, I've corrected my mistake, but haven't got enough time to go through the entire fic. Not that I'm begging you to, but I'll make amends once the school term is over. Really a big THANK-YOU for all your compliments!


	5. Part IV: Drizzle

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes:** WHEE! Finally, school has officially ended and almost all distractions are over with. I'm immensely sorry about the late update! The Arts' Fest was a disaster, but yeah, to heck with it. Anyway, here's the newest chapter. Please give me any honest comments, criticism etc. so that I can really improve my work. Enjoy and review as much as possible! Oh, by the way, I think I should clarify something first...

**krizue:** Thanks for your review – I'm really pleased that you like it! However, to answer your question about making Akane more competent. To my regret, I can't, because I wanted to cut to the chase.

I didn't want to drag the plot too long (like this chapter, which is mostly talk. Hehe )

However, you may be rest assured that Shoken took roughly the same amount of time to defeat all three of the girls, as they're about the same level of skill, with Akane being slightly weaker. But you can't blame her – she's got lesser training than either of them, but she's still immensely powerful. Hope that settles your query ;)

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part IV: Drizzle**

Shoken Koname looked on with cold eyes at the scene in front of her. A tall handsome boy with dark hair and eyes, dressed in a traditional kendo outfit had caught the girl, Akane, looking down at her with an utterly devoted, besotted expression.

"Tendou Akane, my love," He was saying. "So I have found you, but alas! Your spirit has soared away into the heavens!"

He shed mock tears of bitterness and regret, and continued. "But fear not now, for I, Tatewaki Kuno, aged 17, the Blue Lightning of Furinkan High, will now see to it that-"

A kick in the head caused him to fall towards the ground, as a voice resounded, "Get away from her, Kuno!"

The next moment, Ranma had scooped up Akane before Kuno smashed into the ground, eyes spinning, apparently unconscious. But Ranma didn't particularly care. All he was worried about was the unconscious girl lying in his arms.

_Akane... AKANE!_

There were few moments when he had ever felt this hopeless, and this was one of them. Staring at Akane's still face, he felt his heart wrench. Somehow, the worst of these moments were always, in some way or other, connected to Akane. The most recent was the time when he'd fought Saffron to rescue Akane, then thinking he was too late as Akane lay, in the same way, motionless in his arms. He felt the same familiar tears start to rise in his eyes before he even realized that he was going to cry...

All of a sudden, he felt someone's gaze on him. Someone he didn't know. And he knew, this was the girl that had defeated Ukyo and beat her up to a mess. Who had knocked Akane unconscious. And that made him more furious than anything. This girl had beaten up Ukyo and Akane with the knowledge that she could beat them both, but refused to spare them any mercy.

Gently, he set Akane on the ground. His gaze lingered sadly on her pale, still, inert form before turning around to face Shoken, his eyes hardening, grey-blue eyes blazing like fire.

"DAMN you... You're the girl who caused Akane to be- be in that state and beat U'chan unconscious, right?!"

"I don't know who is this 'U'chan', but if my guess is correct, you mean Kuonji Ukyo." She replied coldly, without a single trace of remorse. "I do not lie, and I will admit I defeated her, to the state of unconsciousness, but those are merely external wounds and will be healed quickly. As for Tendou Akane, her rashness resulted in her defeat. That is all I will say."

He clenched his fists tightly, jaw clenched. He knew Shoken was right, but he was still angry anyway. "Then why? Why did you do this? You knew that you could defeat them both from the very beginning, didn't you?" He received no reply, save a cold glare.

He gestured at Akane. "Then why? What would you gain from the defeat of Akane and Ukyo, and I suspect, many others, bastard?!"

Shoken smiled thinly. "I have said before, my ambition, is to be... The strongest martial artist of all Japan."

Ranma took a step back, shocked and confused, his anger diminished for a moment. The strongest...?

_Arrggh... There's no need to think so much about it... Akane's the most important right now. This girl... I have a really bad feeling about this... What-what **can** I do? What **should **I do? To Doctor Tofu? But this girl seems damn merciless... And to hell will I leave her alone!_

Mind made up, he got into battle stance, fists at the ready. "I'm warning you, girl or not, I'm showing you no mercy. To hell with what you said about being the strongest in Japan. There isn't any single need for you to be the strongest, anyway. Because of what you did to Akane, I won't forgive you. Ever."

Shoken looked startled, then her face contorted into an angry expression, eyes flashing dangerously. "Please address me by my name – it's Shoken Koname. And I don't care about your reason for wanting to defeat me. But there's a reason I want to be the strongest, and I will never ever reveal it to scum like you who don't even know what _it_ feels like. I won't let anyone get in my way!"

"Omoshiroi," Ranma smirked.

_I won't let anyone get in my way too_, he thought silently to himself. _I will **not** let you touch anyone else again, especially **not** Akane! Dare touch her, and I will **kill** you. That's what I said to that idiot Sanzenin Mikado during that darned ice-skating tournament, and I won't go back on it!_

Shoken merely looked at him coolly. "Well, you did mention you didn't want to fight a girl, huh? Well, then I'll show you something else."

Ranma's eyes widened as curiosity took over him. Shoken coolly walked over to a stray backpack, much like, to Ranma's irony, Ryoga's very own, and removed a bottle of ice-water. Before Ranma could even speak, she had poured the contents over herself.

He gagged. For now, standing in front of him, was a _guy_.

* * *

At some point of time, Mousse'd been sprayed by an inconsiderate washer-woman with cold water, and so, as a result, had turned into a squealing duck, running - if it could even be called running – around flapping his wings angrily, thinking of nothing but what would happen when he finished off the attacker.

He pictured Shampoo's adoring face staring up at him earnestly, her eyes shining with admiration.

"_Mousse-sama, you so heroic! I love you!"_

"_Oh, Shampoo! I'm so honoured. Come, fall into my arms, into my embrace, my lovely rose!"_

_Shampoo's lips suddenly found his, and they were in a second kissing passionately, arms locked around each other in that magical moment. He didn't want to stop..._

A fist on his head suddenly broke him out of his reverie. He glared upwards, squawking angrily. Fortunately, his glasses still had not fallen off, and he could make out the brief outline of Hibiki Ryoga, looking pissed off.

Then he felt himself dragged inside an empty warehouse, and the resounding clatter of a kettle after a lot of hot water was poured over the still-squealing duck.

Mousse glared up at Ryoga, his skin boiling red from the hot water. "Did it have to be that hot?!"

Ryoga glanced down unconcernedly, and threw down Mousse's clothes. "Here, put them on. Anyway, have you seen that bastard Ranma anywhere? I seem to have gotten lost somewhere."

"That's not the main issue now!" Mousse replied hotly and aggressively, startling Ryoga. "Shampoo's been defeated by a mysterious attacker, and I need to get revenge for her!" He was silent for a while, and then an idea suddenly came into his head like a light-bulb. An idea for help, much as he disliked it. If Shampoo could always defeat him, he would never be able to defeat this mysterious attacker.

"I think whoever this person is might go after Akane too!"

This caught Ryoga's attention, who was originally unconcernedly fiddling around with his bandannas.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He too paused for a moment, and sighed as he realized what Mousse was aiming at. After all, he still had brains to think, even if he hardly even knew north from south.

"Fine! I'll help you look for the mysterious attacker, and protect Akane-san. I don't trust that wimp of a Ranma!" He stood up, brushing off his pants impatiently.

"Let's go!"

* * *

Ranma stared at the guy. _No... it isn't possible... She couldn't... She couldn't have-_

"-Fallen into the _Nanni-chuan_ in Japan?" He asked aloud, eyes goggling.

Shoken seemed slightly startled, but then smiled. "Heh, looks like you know of the Cursed Springs too, huh? Then obviously, you've fallen victim to one of them. _Pathetic_."

He continued smiling as he threw the bottle on the ground and walked over to Ranma, who was currently glaring at him with a kind of venomic hatred, until they were less than a metre apart.

"But I wasn't that way. I'd already known of the Cursed Springs and what they did. I wanted to fall into the Nanni-chuan so that I could gain the advantage of fighting as a guy. As a guy, there are less restrictions."

Ranma bristled but didn't argue. He – no, she – was right, of course. Guys were definitely more powerful than girls, Ranma knew. But there were even some advantages to girls that she probably never knew, and had no intention of knowing anyway. But that wasn't the main problem right now. _Finish the fight quickly, and bring Akane over to Doctor Tofu..._

He smirked, hiding the surprise he felt inside. There was obviously no reason to ask how did he find the Nanni-chuan, for he – no, she - he mentally corrected yet again, would never ever reveal it.

"Well, so that's that. Idiot, I really don't care right now. You're going _down_!"

Shoken smiled, and jumped into the air. "Be prepared, then! For you're going to meet your doom!"

Ranma smiled and jumped into the air. "Hehe... that's where you're wrong, idiot. I said you're the one going down!"

They exchanged blows in mid-air, neither managing to successfully hit the other, before landing back on the ground.

Shoken looked more serious when he was back on the ground. "I thought you were all talk and no action, but I guess you aren't after all. But I don't particularly feel like playing with you so I'd like to end this as quickly as possible."

He straightened, then fell into a battle stance.

"Illusion: Attack of clones."

Shoken seemed to split into two, then four, then eight, all with identical features, all eyeing him with hints of smugness. Ranma glared. He'd seen this trick before, when Cologne had done something similar to him. And he wasn't about to fall for it again.

But before he could even concentrate on the real with his mind's eye, they all seemed to attack him simultaneously, from different directions. And he continuously felt himself being attacked over and over again at different places in a random pattern, quite unlike Cologne.

_Dammit... Looks like I have to catch him at it... Gotta grab his blow before he can move away, then pull him down and knock him off unconscious!_

Through the rain of blows – almost as fast as his _Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken_, or maybe just as fast – he gritted his teeth and caught the next blow with his bare hands.

Then he felt himself caught by an extraordinary number of ropes, and pulled some distance away, as the illusions cleared.

He saw Mousse standing over him as he released the ropes, and saw Ryoga standing in front of a fallen Shoken who was just getting to his feet.

"W-What the hell?!"

Ryoga turned back angrily, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Ranma, you moron! Letting Akane-san get into such a state. But get her to somewhere safe 'cause I have someone to take care of.

"I trust you. For this once."

Ranma understood. If he'd been faster... If he'd never even gone to meet the stupid teacher in the first place, he wouldn't have been late...

"Got it. He – no, she – is all yours until I return." He walked over to Akane, strides steady but not with his usual spirit, and picked Akane up, bridal-style, before leaping away.

Mousse smirked and fell beside Ryoga. "Count me in on it. I'll attack him first."

Ryoga nodded, falling back a little to let Mousse fight Shoken first, nevertheless still smiling grimly and a little savagely at Shoken.

Shoken didn't look the least bit intimidated. He merely looked at the both of them coolly with the slightest hint of boredom.

"If that's what you wish. Bring it on."

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, wow, was that long! Anyway, I hoped you all liked it, because there're less battles in here – most of it was talk... And you finally get to know which spring Shoken "fell" into!

Here are some translations to some of the Japanese I use, if you aren't familiar with them, since the first chapter, including the names of characters which I made up. There's only four, but well, heck!

_Shoken Koname_: The girl who wishes to be the strongest in the whole of Japan. Shoken, when broken apart, means Pearl (Sho) Sword (Ken). Likewise, Koname, when broken apart, means Blue (Kon) Rain (Ame). This is a name I pieced together, because I was bored. It sure took me a long time!

_Dojo_: Training hall

_Tanaka_: Tanaka is the name of the master of the dojo Shoken defeats when you first see her. It means "in the fields (or something like that) when broken apart, and is a common Japanese name.

_Omoshiroi_: Translates as "interesting", and is a favourite of Ranma's, besides "uncute" and other phrases along similar lines.

**Ebonknave**: Wow, thanks for your compliment! I'm really glad you like the story!

**FreedomGundam**: Is this story really that good? Hehe... Thanks for your compliment!

**Yokai Cesia and Chi**: Thanks, Cesia-san, I'm really glad you liked this chappie! As for her real reasons, it _is _to be the strongest martial artist in Japan, but as for why she wants to be the strongest martial artist, it'll be revealed later!

**Gundum M**: Again, thanks for your compliment! Really am honoured by your praise!


	6. Part V: Rain

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes:** Hehe... Sorry for the long wait. I was trying to take a breather from all the writing for a while Anyway, here's the newest chapter of It's Gonna Rain, and will be, I guarantee, the third from last chapter. Any honest criticism and comments are welcome! Enjoy and please review as much as possible.

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part V: Rain**

_Shoken didn't look the least bit intimidated. He merely looked at the both of them coolly with the slightest hint of boredom._

"_If that's what you wish. Bring it on."_

Mousse glared at the figure in front of him with barely disguised hate. If there was a person he hated most, it was someone who had touched even one single strand of Shampoo's hair. And this guy had done more than that – he had injured Shampoo, which was all the more inexcusable.

"I will be your first opponent, whoever you are!"

Shoken merely smirked at him condescendingly. "I have heard of you. You must be Mousse. Well, if you think your play-toy tricks are going to work against me, then you're wrong."

Mousse bristled. "You would do well not to underestimate your opponent."

Shoken glanced at him coolly. "You aren't even worth my time. The one next to you though, is his name Hibiki Ryoga? I have heard of him too, and I have to say that he is definitely more of an opponent than you are."

Ryoga smirked with an air of superiority around at Mousse, who was looking quite a bit crushed as his over-large ego was squashed flat like a burst balloon.

Mousse clenched his fists, looking determined but angry. "Well, I don't really care what you think of me. I am your opponent! Revenge for my beloved Shampoo!"

He advanced towards the opponent, hands in his overlarge sleeves, feet in ready battle stance. Shoken looked slightly startled at his vehemence, then smiled slightly, inwardly admiring Mousse, despite his so-called inferior ability, for his commendable courage.

"Here I come!"

He pulled out a large chicken from his sleeves, surprising both Ryoga and Shoken. Before their very eyes, the chicken quickly hatched some eggs into Mousse's hands.

"EXPLODING EGGS!"

He threw them straight at Shoken, who dodged each one of them quickly. All the eggs hit the ground with a loud explosion, but the impact blew up a cloud of dust.

Shoken mentally swore. _That was his aim... Not to hit me, but to create this cloud of dust in which he can attack me! But where is he?_

He barely detected the long bundles of chains and ropes or snaking out towards him, and dodged each of them by a mere hairsbreadth. All except one, that was.

The cloud of dust dispersed, revealing a smug Mousse looking down at Shoken's bound body with ill-contained contempt. "Now who's calling who weak?"

Shoken only smiled thinly. "Do you think that will hold me off for long? The match isn't decided yet, not until the other is knocked out!"

The ropes snapped, pieces of it falling to the ground limply, leaving Ryoga and Mousse both struck dumb.

Not a trace of a smile appeared on Shoken's deadly serious face. "I admit that I have underestimated you, not realizing you weren't as simple-minded as I originally thought. But then, you have committed an even more serious mistake in underestimating me!"

* * *

Ranma reached Tofu-sensei's clinic, panting with the effort of carrying Akane. _And here she was just denying how heavy she was yesterday!!_

Kicking open the door, he found himself Tofu-sensei right in front of him, looking a bit startled by the appearance of the newcomer. But Ranma wasn't complaining – He had, after all, found the person he needed most urgently.

He started rambling. "Tofu-sensei! Akane got injured, so treat her!"

The infatuated doctor held his hands up in a pacifying manner, and reached for Akane. "Calm down, Ranma-kun, and tell me what's the matter."

Ranma barely heeded his words, but nevertheless slowed down in his speech as he gently placed Akane's limp and unconscious body in his arms. "Akane got injured by that ass-hole! Please treat her!"

Tofu-sensei stared. This was the first time, he realized, that Ranma had actually said "Please". He smiled inwardly. Ranma just wasn't good at hiding the fact that he was actually concerned about Akane many times.

"Very well. I'll check her over and – Where are you going, Ranma-kun?"

A barely audible reply shot back at him. "I've got to settle things with that bastard!"

Tofu-sensei sighed, and turned towards the mini-hospital room where two other female patients currently lay. "Well, I'll see to it that she gets taken care of."

He had barely entered the room when he was bombarded with questions by the two patients in question.

"Did Ran-chan come by?" That was Ukyo, who looked much brighter than when she had woken up to see that Ranma had gone.

"Did Ai-ren come by?" An equally cheerful-looking Shampoo demanded.

He sighed, yet again. If he was right, he would never have his peace if the two knew that Ranma had gone by without even asking about both of them...

* * *

Mousse gazed at Shoken steadily after getting over his initial shock. Very few people had managed to get past his ropes and chains attack, which meant that this guy was obviously a very seasoned fighter. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he thought of Shampoo's admiring face. And that was enough to spur him on.

_I'll definitely win this guy, and win Shampoo's heart for sure. Shampoo, my beloved rose, just wait for me and see!_

"You're pretty good. But the next attack will definitely defeat you!"

Shoken rolled his eyes mentally. If his attacks were this corny, he doubted that Mousse would even stand another chance against him. The first time he got caught was only due to his underestimation. But the next time, he would not fall for such a simple diversion. He could not.

"Let us see, then. I doubt that you will be able to land even a finger on me again."

Mousse forced himself not to let his temper rise. "Well, let's see then! Revenge for my beloved Shampoo! Take this – Fist of the White Swan!"

He jumped into the air, and removed a child's training potty in the shape of a swan and lobbed it at Shoken with surprising speed, before jumping over his head.

Shoken coolly deflected the potty and glanced above in plenty of time to see Mousse.

"Fear my wrath! HAWK'S TALON!"

Without any obvious effort, Shoken dodged Mousse's attack and flipped so quickly that Mousse could not even detect the attack that was launched above him, and sprawled to the floor, unconscious.

Shoken smiled, like a lion ready to pounce on his next opponent.

"Hibiki Ryoga, you are next."

* * *

Ranma leaped lightly from building to building, feeling anxiety constrict him. _Akane... would she be alright?_

_Of course she will_, he silently berated himself. _She's, after all, stubbornly uncute. _But the image of Akane, limp and unconscious in his arms, was still freshly imprinted in his mind, and no matter what, he couldn't chase it away.

His sighed, depression clawing away at him as it never had in his whole entire life before. _First I gotta tell Oyaji and Akane's dad..._

He could almost imagine their reactions.

_My kawaii Akane-chan... Being beaten so badly... Akane-E-E-E!! _That was, of course, Soun Tendou, and the tears would definitely start somewhere along the way.

_Ranma! Why didn't you protect Akane?! You are her fiancée, after all, and you are supposed to protect her..._ That was his father, of course. Damn father was the only one who would ramble off in that direction.

He was so _not_ looking forward to it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay, this sure is a short chapter, but I prefer to write short ones, anyway. If some of you are thinking that I'm diverging from the plot too much, then I'm sorry, but some parts of Shoken's reasons will come through the next chapter.

However, as for the length of the story, another chapter will be added on to it. So it basically means next chapter is Ryoga's fight, then Ranma's, then some epilogue stuff. Believe, I won't just let Ranma defeat Shoken, pounce some stuffing into her, and let everyone be happy. There is stuff I need to develop too.

**Gundum M:** Thanks so much for your review. Rest assured, I'll continue to try my best!!


	7. Part VI: Downpour

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes: **The third-from-last chapter is out. I'm sorry about what I said in the beginning Author's Notes the previous chapter.

And, as some of you probably noticed, I have relabeled the chapters. It's nothing important, though, so you don't have to re-read the other chapters, as the chapter labels doesn't interfere with the content of the chapter. Anyway, please enjoy! Any comments or criticism is welcome, and please review as much as possible!

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part VI: Downpour**

_Without any obvious effort, Shoken dodged Mousse's attack and flipped so quickly that Mousse could not even detect the attack that was launched above him, and sprawled to the floor, unconscious._

_Shoken smiled, like a lion ready to pounce on his next opponent._

"_Hibiki Ryoga, you are next."_

Ryoga fixed Shoken with a death's glare, his mind already anticipating the outcome of the battle – Shoken at his feet, begging for mercy at his almighty power. The taste of victory would be so nice...

He could never forgive this guy for beating up Akane so badly. He would never forgive him anyway, even if he could. The damn bastard had hurt Akane, gave her so much physical pain. And it was so painfully obvious how superior Shoken was to Akane judging by his battle with the currently unconscious Mousse just a few moments ago.

He had a feeling that Shoken knew. And delighted in showing off the obvious by displaying his skills to a much inferior Akane. It was practically the strong picking on the weak.

"You'll pay for injuring Akane-san," He gritted out angrily. "You'll pay."

"Really? Your agitation will bring your defeat nearer."

"Weren't you the same way when you were fighting Mousse just now and were naïve enough to even fall for his trap?"

A brief sparkle of anger in his eyes, and his normal cool façade came on.

"Observant, aren't you?" It seemed that he was enjoying this... toying around before battle. In battle, he wasted no time in taking down his opponent. But he took the chance to gloat before battle if he there was an opportunity for him to do so. Such as now.

"Well, I'm not a very observant person. You flatter me." He stated simply. No way was he going to tell him how directionless he could be. Even Akane-san knew that...

"However," He continued. "I'm surprised that you know my name. Where did you chance upon it? And while we're at it, I'd like to know your name."

Shoken cocked his head. "My name is Shoken Koname. As for where I heard of your name, it is old news that there are a few unrivalled opponents in Nerima.

"A kind fellow told me of Kuonji Ukyo, Shampoo, Tendou Akane and Kuno Kodachi, and a certain pig-tailed girl, unrivalled girl martial artists, each unique in their own ways. And the guys were even more unrivalled. Kuno Tatewaki. Mousse. Hibiki Ryoga. And Saotome Ranma."

Ryoga's eyebrow twitched. Fancy being put alongside the lines of Mousse and Kuno! That was indeed...

"-Heaping insult upon injury!"

Apparently, Tatewaki Kuno had awoken after falling into a state of unconsciousness when Ranma had kicked him.

"To imagine that I, Tatewaki Kuno, aged seventeen, Blue Lightning of Furinkan High, to be placed alongside trash like Saotome Ranma! Inexcusable! I shall cast you into the depths of hell with my Holy Shinnai! Have at THEE!"

"Baka, you're just jumping straight into his trap." Ryoga jabbed his head at Shoken, who was merely looking at the scene impassively.

Kuno blatantly shrugged off his warning, heading straight for Shoken. When his blade was a mere centimetre away from Shoken, Shoken coolly reached out a hand and caught the shinnai between his foreknuckles, and kicked Kuno in the groin.

Kuno doubled over, apparently caught in an intense wave of pain, before a fist rammed straight into his chest and Kuno crumpled in a heap at Shoken's feet.

"Looks like our fight should commence now, Hibiki Ryoga."

* * *

"Akane-chan, my cute baby!! AKAA-NEE!! _AKAAAANEEEEEE!!!!_" 

"Ranma, impudent, uncaring son of mine, how could you let Akane fall into such danger?! Akane is your fiancée, you should protect her!! And-"

Ranma sighed and rubbed his temples. Soun Tendou was already being bad enough. Adding his stupid _oyaji_ into the picture turned the whole mess rather nasty.

"Shuddup, will ya?" He asked Saotome Genma wearily. "I've got to go and beat the crap outta that Shoken bastard. I don't trust Mousse and Ryoga enough to let them handle it on their own."

Which was stating that he thought he had skills which much surpassed them, of course. Ranma wouldn't be _Ranma_ if he didn't have the cocky assurance that he would, somehow, always win a battle, no matter how much stronger the opponent was than him. He would always find a way...

He also had such a fierce determination that it was impossible to imagine him without it. These two qualities made him a very formidable opponent indeed.

A chill crept up his spine, though, as he thought of Shoken Koname. His livid eyes as he got agitated, that façade of coolness he showed as a mask to almost everyone, his near-impossible speed, almost as fast as his Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken...

"_But there's a reason I want to be the strongest, and I will never ever reveal it to scum like you who don't even know what it feels like. I won't let anyone get in my way!"_

... What was he – no, she – talking about? What did she mean when Ranma didn't know what it felt like?

Well, he didn't have any time to waste. Leaving his reprimanding oyaji and his crying Father-in-Law-to-be-someday (He was shuddering at the thought), he leaped away, adrenaline to its fullest.

_Shoken... You're gonna pay..._

* * *

"Take this!" 

A huge score of bandannas flew towards Shoken, who coldly reached to batter aside the bandannas with lightning-fast speed.

Little did he expect Ryoga to jump amid his storm of bandannas to take out Shoken's ass. Shoken quickly leaped out of the way, his feet sliding on the ground.

A trickle of blood ran down his wrist.

"You obviously didn't know about the secret of my bandannas, did you? Even Ranma isn't stupid enough to reach out and batter them aside like that, no matter how stupid he actually is. They can slice a tree in half. I'm amazed you didn't even lose your arm."

Shoken smirked. "This kind of thing can never get to me. Get ready for my attacks. I don't use flashy moves, except my illusions, of course. My attacks are enough to batter you to pieces."

Ryoga couldn't control his laugh. "If you can't even lay a finger on me, then it's practically useless. I use both long-range and short-range attacks. My bandannas is one. My umbrella is another. And there is a third.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!!"

He jumped towards an area nearer to Shoken, who dodged out of the way, as Ryoga's finger struck a point in the ground.

Debris flew around, surrounding the duo. Shoken, with practiced (though slightly alarmed at Ryoga's power) ease, deflected all the debris, though the main impact of the blow had gotten him and nearly caused him to fall over. Ryoga, who was used to the tremors caused by the Bakusai Tenketsu by now, merely stood up the impact and debris and came out of it without so much as a single scratch.

When the debris finally cleared, it was clear satisfaction to see Shoken's icy expression falter a little to give way to alarm and total alertness.

_So he's finally realized that I am an extremely, extremely strong opponent. Here, the real fight begins!_

"That was a good technique." Shoken said, without a change of tone as his normal expressionless mask turned back on. "But however, you can never ever match up to me!"

He jumped into the air, Ryoga following, both exchanging blows. Ryoga aimed a kick at Shoken who coolly twisted and dodged around while reflexively aiming his fist at Ryoga's back. Ryoga ducked, and as Shoken's fist met air, turned around to face Shoken and aimed a fist at his face.

They continued like this for awhile, amidst all the curious students who had gathered to watch. It had, someway or other, turned from a revenge match (From Ryoga's point of view) into a fist fight, with neither gaining the upper hand.

A new transfer student glanced nervously at the fighting. "Won't _any_ of them get injured in the process?"

"Ah, don't worry," Her companion replied easily. "Just don't go too near the fighting. With Ryoga around, expect massive destruction, as that's his style. It's normally Ranma who fights him though, and he's not here. If there's a person who can beat Ryoga, it's Ranma. If Ranma were here, this fight would have been settled within seconds."

The transfer student looked positively appalled. "Are you sure no one gets hurt?"

"Well, that's hard to say. But none of us onlookers have gotten injured before. With Ranma around, school has definitely gotten more interesting, as he always attracts all the trouble."

The transfer student was starting to look sick.

Meanwhile, the fist fight still continued for another 5 minutes. Finally, both separated, looking extremely grim. Ryoga was panting heavily now, while Shoken only looked slightly breathless and not breaking a sweat.

"If you're already this tired, then the match has already been settled," Shoken said with the slight hint of boredom.

Ryoga summoned all his last strength, looking very serious. "Unfortunately, I won't rest until I defeat you! This is for Akane-san, so I won't lose!"

Shoken coolly ran a finger through his hair. "For somebody? That is where you are wrong. No matter who you want to protect, the weak will lose. The weak will always fall under the dominion of the strong, no matter how noble their dreams are. That is the way of life."

"What are you talking about?"

"Only those who are strong," He continued, "can fulfill their dreams to the fullest. Because if you are weak, your dreams will eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are. You will be helpless."

Ryoga took a step back, Shoken's words ringing in his ears.

"_Because if you are weak, your dreams will eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are. You will be helpless."_

His fist clenched. Images of Ranma defeating him, no matter what terrible skill he had mastered flicked through his mind. Recollections of Akane and Ranma, smiling at each other, hand in hand, even for all their bickering, came to mind.

If he were stronger, he _could_ have defeated Ranma. But that didn't mean that Akane would have liked him instead of Ranma...

"You're wrong." He stated flatly. "Ranma might have always defeated me, but that doesn't mean that Akane-san would like me if I managed to defeat him for once. Your concept of weak and strong, it doesn't work that way."

Shoken glared, fire in his eyes. It was the first time Ryoga had seen visible anger etched on the cold face. "Would you even be able to fathom what Tendou Akane feels when it comes to men? Everyone look up to the strong, and trod on the weak. The food cycle, the lives of men, they all work in the same pattern. Everything has the same pattern – The strong will always domineer over the weak. If you do not want to be domineered, the only way is to become stronger.

"And now, because of my dreams to become the strongest, I have defeated countless martial artists not unlike you who are weak because they believe everyone has equal status. That is wrong. And I shall show you now."

The anger melted from his features as he got into ready battle-stance. Ryoga, a bit shaken by Shoken, got into battle-stance too.

_This is no time to ponder. Akane-san, I will end the battle for you... Only you!!_

Shoken moved forwards with unnaturally fast speed, far exceeding Ranma's Kachu Tenshin Amagukuren. Before Ryoga could even react, he was met with nine simultaneous blows, all executed in a second.

He felt himself flying through the air, and just managed to catch himself, falling onto his knees instead splat face-down on the floor. He got up, wincing.

"Damn you-" He choked out.

"I'm surprised that you're still standing," Shoken said without the merest trace of a smirk. "I shall finish you off."

"I don't think so." Ryoga replied. He closed his eyes, falling into his depths of depression.

His eyes burned scarlet. "SHISHI HOKO DAN!"

The blast erupted, but as he blanked out his emotions, he felt someone punch him straight in the face.

He really did fall into the darkness then.

* * *

Shoken looked unmovingly at the unconscious Ryoga in the midst of a huge crater, feeling the effects of the Shishi Hoko Dan on him. 

_What... was that?_

_Dammit... Hibiki Ryoga, you have called forth the emotions which I suppressed, but you were defeated in the end. As was meant to be._

He walked away from Ryoga, as the amazed crowd twittered and backed away, cowering away from Shoken.

_I will not be defeated. I will be the strongest of all martial artists, and never let anyone look down on me again._

_I will never let such humiliation happen again. To be the strongest – I exist only for that dream._

"MATTE! Shoken Koname, fight me!"

He turned around, to meet a fierce, tough countenance, eyes which blazed with the fire of anger.

Ranma stood before him fearlessly, his fist clenched tightly.

"Now."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** YIKES! That was... wow, long! The plot's starting to darken, and I kinda feel like I'm rewriting Rurouni Kenshin all over again! Tee- hee 

Anyway, the 2nd-to-last chapter is probably going to be even longer than this. Yikes. I might, possibly, even split it into 2 parts. Again.

**The No Life King of Denton: **Wow, thanks for your review! I'm really glad you found this interesting! Hehe...

**Gundum M:** Thanks for your review once again! I really appreciate all of your reviews!


	8. Part VII: Storm

**Disclaimer:** All characters and places are the property of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. Except for the original characters and places, that is.

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter sure is long… Anyway, please enjoy and any comments and criticism are welcome! I think I made Ranma a bit OOC, so please tell me if my worst fear came through. Ranma is, after all, not the type of person who can use his brains effectively (as much as I hate to admit). But dammit, Ranma looks just SO cool in the manga.

fan-girl squeal>

Oh, and I **am** going to split this last chapter into **two** parts. Which means you'll have to wait for the next chapter. I just can't stand writing long chapters… Sorry about it… I just can promise that I will update the last chapter with the epilogue.

* * *

**It's Gonna Rain**

**A Ranma ½ Fan-fiction**

**Part VII: Storm**

Ranma stood in front of Shoken, his grey-blue eyes stormy, a faint spark of burning anger in them. A gust of wind blew his plaited pig-tail, dead leaves around him swirling away with the wind, making the whole scene seem more ominous than it ever was.

_You'll pay_, he seethed. _You'll definitely pay for making Akane hurt. I will **never** forgive you. Never._

Shoken coolly observed his slightly disheveled state with a wary eye. "Are you sure you can win me in your current agitated state?"

Ranma suddenly smiled – or rather, smirked – with a glint in his eye. "Heh! I've always beaten my opponents! What makes you think I'll be defeated this time round?"

"True, but what kind of opponents have you been up against? I have been up against the best martial arts schools in Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto. What makes you think I would lose to you?"

Ranma was silenced, but not out of intimidation, but rather, as a sudden wave of memories flashed through his mind.

_I fought Herb… and survived due to Hiryu Korin Dan. I fought Saffron… and managed to survive and rescue Akane. What makes you think that I won't defeat you, bastard?_ _I am, after all, even better than **Ryoga**._

He didn't say it out loud, though. Talking about his experience with Herb would mean that the audience (which he had barely noticed until then) would know that he and Girl Ranma were actually one and the same, a secret which he didn't particularly want the school to know. And even if they already knew, he didn't particularly _want_ to remind them.As for Saffron…

Thinking about Saffron opened up painful memories. Despite the time that had passed, he still just couldn't forget about what had happened then. Couldn't shake off the guilty feelings that he had nearly let Akane die then. He could still picture her, turned into the dehydrated doll, acting as his shield, picture her lying in his arms, apparently dead, as he sobbed over her and realized what she actually meant to him.

He realized that he actually loved her then. It was a creepy thought, one that he realized just far too late (or so he thought). And it was an experience that he never ever wanted to repeat again… Even if he had never admitted it aloud and had never really thought about after the failed wedding, those were feelings that could never fade.

"I defeated opponents you wouldn't have dreamed of before." He replied sharply. "They sure put up a hell lot of a fight. Yet I managed to defeat 'em. Goes to show that I actually ain't so much of a wimp, huh?"

Shoken looked slightly curious, but reflecting on the tone Rama had used, decided not to probe more about the opponents Ranma had defeated.

"What makes you think that I am not stronger than them?"

Ranma cocked his head. "Let's just say I know you'll definitely be defeated by me, 'kay?"

Shoken bristled at Ranma's airy tone. _He definitely needs to be put down a peg or two. After all, he's too full of himself._

He managed to muster a superior smile. "Well, let's see how you fare after I've finished you off."

Ranma smirked. "_Omoshiroi_. Bring it on!"

_I'll definitely defeat you!_

* * *

"You hiding secret! Ai-ren go without asking about me? _Impossible_! Definitely!"

"Shampoo's right! How could Ran-chan just go off like_ that_! He'd better have some reason!"

Doctor Tofu sighed as he continued to treat Akane. Other than a slight concussion, a couple of bruises and some marks on her throat where Shoken had grabbed her with a Deathly Grip, she wasn't in a really bad state.

Removing the ice-packs from Akane's bruises as he covered her up with a thin blanket, he turned to face the accusers.

Shampoo was right behind him, their faces a mere inch apart. She looked, for the lack of a better descriptive term, pissed off. The same could be said for Ukyo, who was lounging beside the bed next to the one Akane currently vacated.

"I don't know why he did what he did either," He repliedcarefully, knowing that the slightest remark could set them off again. "He looked very upset and also very angry at the same time and left in a hurry. I have no idea what happened to him, except that he mentioned about "settling things" with someone he probably had a fight with."

Shampoo and Ukyo were all sparkles and glitter.

"Ai-ren taking revenge for me! Absolutely!"

"No, Ran-chan must be taking revenge for _my_ defeat! After all, _he_ was the one who carried me all the way here!"

They squabbled angrily for a long time,Doctor Tofuonly turning half an ear on them. He knew that Ranma was in such a rage and tearing hurry on Akane's account for the most part. After all, from what he'd heard from Saotome Genma, Ranma's father about _that_ incident, he judged that Ranma actually had realized that he did loved Akane.

And about time, too.

He did notice a slight change in Ranma during the times he and Akane had stopped by. For one, he didn't look as convinced when he screamed "uncute" at Akane. He was gentler towards her, and didn't insult Akane as much. Not that Akane noticed, though. Just one "uncute" could send her into a bad temper for the rest of the day.

It sure was pitiful that Ukyo and Shampoo were just as oblivious as Akane was. But he had to admit that it prevented them from going through any heart-break.

* * *

Shoken caught Ranma's fist just as he caught Shoken's. They exerted some slight force before releasing, switching to another series of punching, blocking, ducking and dodging and each tried to stay on top of the other. None made any remarkable progress, though.

They had already been at it for five minutes now and nothing was settled. Neither was giving up, as only a few blows actually met flesh.

Shoken was faster, but less adept at using the full strength of a male body and thus dealt less damage with each blow he landed. Ranma was slower, but due to his experience of fighting with a male body, had greater strength, and thus made up for quantity with quality.

Finally, they separated, both with hot, flushed faces.

"You are better than I thought when I crossed blows with you previously," Shoken was forced to admit. "But you won't be able to defeat me!"

"Like hll! I'll defeat you, bastard! What you did to Akane was inexcusable!

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGUKUREN!"

He sped forwards with lightning-speed, and executed a series of punches which could hardly be detected.

The first punch caught Shoken by surprise, but he managed to dodge the other punches before blocking Ranma's last blow, catching him off-guard, and kicked him – hard – in the ribs.

They separated, Shoken bending over slightly, wincing at the pain in his chest dealt by Ranma's punch. Ranma's ribs ached similarly, and he was smarting with the pain. It wasn't broken, but it _hurt_.

Shoken locked Ranma's eyes in a level gaze after he managed to deal with the pain. "It is unusual that a person can even catch me off-guard by speed, but I'll show you what it means by **real** speed!"

Ranma barely blinked before he found himself face-to-face with Shoken, and a second later, he found himself flying through the air as Shoken landed a series of blows on his chest and already-damaged ribs.

He caught himself on his feet and stood up.

_Kuso… He's even faster than me… How is that possible?! But mark my words- I won't give up so easily…!_

"How did that feel? This is true strength! That is why I can be the best!"

He walked slowly towards Ranma, who braced and readied himself for another round. But Shoken didn't start on him.

"You said there was no need to be the strongest in Japan the last time we crossed blows. It is true – there is no need. But being the strongest is my desire."

He leaned in on Ranma, who grimaced slightly and leaned backwards, apparently not finding Shoken's face just a mere inch from his face appealing at all.

"When you are weak, you will always fall under the dominion of the strong. Only those who are strong can fulfill their dreams to the fullest. Because if you are weak, your dreams will eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are. You will be helpless."

Ranma, being confused, was quite confused.

_Fall under the dominion of the… strong? Dreams eventually be crushed by someone stronger than you are? Wait…! That- What he said when we fought earlier…_

He recalled Shoken's blazing eyes, his choked voice full of suppressed emotion…

_But there's a reason I want to be the strongest, and I will never ever reveal it to scum like you who don't even know what **it** feels like._

Everything clicked.

He straightened and inched slightly backwards. "Shoken! You said you want to be strongest. And you tell me it's 'cause you want to fulfill your dreams the fullest, as weak people will get their dreams crushed by someone stronger. I don't know, but I get this feeling that there's gotta be a cause to why you said that.

"What're you tryin' to say? That you had your dreams crushed by someone stronger than you before? That you don't want to fall under your so-called 'dominion of the strong', so that's why you wanna be strong?"

Shoken nearly reeled back in shock (literally, of course).

Because Ranma's words had hit the mark.

He forced a smile as a flood of memories crashed in. "You have spoken right. By being the strongest, nobody can hurt you because you have utter control. People will _not_ dare to hurt you in anyway anymore.

_By being strong, nobody can hurt you anymore because you have utter control._

Ranma couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't his usual sort of laugh-over-something-extremely-amusing-laugh. It was a choked laugh, full of suppressed bitterness.

"What's so funny?!" Shoken demanded angrily. "It may sound comical to you, but foolish people like you can never comprehend!"

"No, it's not that," Ranma replied as soon as he stopped laughing. "Just thinking of what you said. 'Cos there was this guy that I fought that I managed to defeat even though he was a thousand times stronger than me. For our own personal goals, do ya think that anyone would just stop to think in the way you think?! Nah, they'd think that it doesn't matter, 'cos there's something that they must do!

"And that's the way I'm thinking now! For Akane, I will defeat you!"

Shoken glared, all icy façade gone. "What would you know!? Fighting for the sake of someone else is stupid, and I shall prove it to you now. Your friend was defeated because of that foolish concept. This is the way of life! And I shall show you the proof of this!"

* * *

Akane woke sluggishly, feeling as though she had just run through a treadmill. Blearily focusing her unfocused eyes on the ceiling, she wondered what had just happened to her.

_Oh, yeah! I got knocked out… But how did I end up here?_

She sat up, her mind still not in tune with her body, and scanned her surroundings. It was a few moments before she realized that she was actually on a bed in Tofu-sensei's clinic.

"Oh, Akane awake already?"

"Looks like it."

Her slightly glazed-over eyes found Shampoo and Ukyo, both sitting on different beds, looking extremely, for a lack of a better term yet again, pissed off. Or rather, only Ukyo was. She was lounging onan adjacentbed, glaring at Akane as though **she** had done something wrong. Shampoo, on the other hand, was looking incredibly pouty. Mouth set in a pout, her arms were crossed on her chest, and she was determinedly not looking at Akane.

Something was definitely wrong.

For one, why were the two here?

She was spared from further thought when Tofu-sensei bustled into the room. "Ah, Akane-chan. You're already awake?"

"Tofu-sensei!" She replied, somewhat relieved.

"Let me check on you. You look better now, but this is just to be sure."

She bit her lip, but said nothing. The sting of her defeat was still evident, and she didn't particularly want to talk. She felt better physically, but she was hampered with a lot of thoughts. Her easy defeat by Shoken. How Shoken became agitated whenever her reasons for her goal to become the best was touched on. And…

…_Ranma! I wonder… I wonder… where he is now?_

Not to mention the death-glares she was currently receiving by two pissed-off girls. If not, one pissed-off girl and one pouty girl.

"Tofu-sensei," She broached rather hesitantly as another thought occurred to her. "Ummm…Do you know who brought me here?"

"Ah!" He looked, for the first time, a tad bit nervous as he glanced at the two girls.

She was positive that the death glares were going to burn holes into her body soon.

"As a matter of fact, Ranma-kun brought you here."

_Ranma…?! _

She felt immensely guilty all of a sudden. For… all the times she'd hit him on the head or knocked him straight out of the roof. Then she remembered the insults he threw at her before she started hitting him and the guilt diminished partially.

But she had never realized how sweet Ranma could actually be until now, except after Saffron. She remembered the sensation of being held in his arms as his tears dripped on to her. She felt so cherished then.

Of course, other than that, he'd never really shown a lot of physical affection to her. Sure, there was the rare grin meant for her especially, and there was once when he even held her hand on the way home, but moments such as those were few and far in between, and always unexpected when they came. He'd never kissed her before. Nor did he ever utter the words "I love you", even when he'd found out that she, the so-called "oblivious" girl, had realized it already.

It was easy to forget her feelings about him, and easy to have the misconception that Ranma actually cared anything for her at all, whether as a friend… or something more.

"Oh."

A deafening silence swept through the whole room, but Akane wasn't disturbed by it, too absorbed she was in her thoughts.

Not even the Death Glares sent in her direction perturbed her.

Or at least, not until another thought came to her.

"Tofu-sensei, where's Ranma?"

He paused on his way out after checking on Ukyo and Shampoo, something which she barely acknowledged in her preoccupied state, to look at her. It was at this point when she finally noticed the Death Glares, and was starting to feel immensely uncomfortable.

"Well… I'm not sure. I think he mentioned something about 'settling things with that bastard'…"

Akane started. _Does he mean… Shoken Koname?! Ranma… Will he be okay?!_

"I'm going to find him." Akane replied abruptly, slipping off the blanket and sliding down the bed despite the refusal of her aching body.

"Akane-chan-"

"Don't stop me, Tofu-sensei!"

She ran off blindly, knocking over several chairs and broke quite a few brittle objects in her haste. She, however, could not help but notice the two girls currently tailing her.

"Why are you guys following me?"

Shampoo replied first. "Go see Ai-ren."

"Ran-chan would _never_ just go without asking about us, and I'm worried about him." That was Ukyo.

Akane didn't even pause to think much about what Ukyo said, which, if she had listened closely, basically was implying that Ukyo was worried that Ranma could not defeat Shoken.

"Okay."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I really am going to split this part into two. I just couldn't stand writing such a long chapter, but the next chapter update, I promise, will have both the last chapter and the epilogue. This I promise.

**Gundum M:** WHEE! Thanks anyway! Well, I really gotta apologize for NOT putting up the other part of his fight with Shoken…

**Anonymous Reviewer - Sargon Dorsai **Wow, thanks for your compliments. You certainly made me think about some things, which made me think about some edits that I might have to make As for the cat fist, I don't think it will, because there aren't any cats around the area and it would make the battle end too simply, because once he uses it, he would score a total victory. Also, about your other question. Shoken does not have any projectile attacks except his illusions, but there isn't any trick to it - it's just his extreme speed. So, no, he won't use them again.

**Anonymous Reviewer - Raen: **Thanks for your feedback! As for why didn't Ryoga's blast hurt him, it actually **did**, but it wasn't as bad as when Ranma received it on the occasion when Ryoga battled Ranma using Shishi Hoko Dan, because of his extreme speed, meaning that due to his speed, the blast didn't hurt as much. Umm... I hope I'm making sense. And as for super endurance, well, I have to edit some of it (Thanks for reminding me!) but the main reason is that Ryoga didn't see the blow coming, and it hit him straight in the face, causing him to black out. I was taking reference from the anime, when Ranma usedthe same method of punching him to knock him out and win the battle. Also, at the moment before he was knocked out, he was experiencing feelings, so the blast he made affected him too. And technically, Ranma is better than Mousse and Kuno at Martial Arts, and is about the same level as Ryoga, except slightly better. Not that they can't compete with Ranma in Martial Arts, it's just that Ranma has a larger variety of attacks which work better against Shoken. Kuno, because of his straight-forwardness, often loses to Ranma. Mousse has his tricks, some of them which made Ranma fluster, but Ranma has real skill and he has the speed to dodge his attacks. As for Ryoga, the main reason why he often loses to Ranma ultimately is because Ranma is better at thinking in battle (Well, sort of) and has more creativity to think of ways to win his battles. And his speed, of course.


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